The Jaguars’ bye week arrives with plenty to like and a little to fix.
At 4-2, Jacksonville is still firmly in the mix after a 34-31 loss to the Houston Texans and two games overseas in the United Kingdom. That defeat showed some cracks, sure, but it didn’t exactly knock the Jaguars off their perch. Liam Coen made that clear after the game.
"I got a lot of confidence in this team. We didn't get the result we wanted.
We're not going to change a thing about our process? Do we have to evaluate and clean up areas in which we need to, specifically in some areas that we just talked about?
Absolutely. But I have a lot of confidence in this team," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said after last Sunday's loss to the Texans.
"I'm extremely proud of this team and the way they kept fighting today, going down ten points, ten points, ten points. Kept fighting.
Kept fighting. Gave ourselves a chance in a quasi two-minute drill to go win the game.
We end up kicking it. Settling, Cam [K Cam Little] makes a huge kick to put us in a position to tie that football game.
I'm extremely proud of this team and confident in this group moving forward."
That confidence is reflected in most of the latest NFL power rankings, even if a few voters seem to be nitpicking the details more than the bigger picture.
Some rankings keep Jacksonville right where it was, and one note points out that the Jaguars can climb even higher if Travis Hunter keeps playing at the level he showed against Houston. Given what Hunter just did, that’s not hard to buy.
Others barely budged the Jaguars at all. ESPN kept them where they were, a notable call considering how far they’ve come from their early-season placement. They’ve climbed all the way into the top five there, and that rise doesn’t look like a fluke.
Not every ranking was quite as generous. One had the Cincinnati Bengals multiple spots ahead of Jacksonville, which stands out after the Jaguars were plainly the better team in their win at the Bengals’ home stadium a few weeks ago.
Another placed the Seahawks above the Jaguars, a decision that appears tied as much to reputation as current form. Even so, Jacksonville still landed in the top 10 there.
A different ranking swap put the New England Patriots ahead of the Jaguars, which was certainly a choice. Another had Jacksonville in the top five but pushed the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings past them. The Bills case is easier to make; the Vikings slot feels shakier until they put together a couple straight weeks of strong offense.
There was also a ranking that knocked Jacksonville down a bit from the top five, with the Texans loss not being the only factor. That drop also reflected the Jaguars’ uneven stretch in London, even with the wild 19-17 win over a wounded Philadelphia Eagles team in Week 5.
And in one of the sharper moves of the week, the Jaguars slid only one spot after losing to the previously 1-4 Texans, with the Bills moving up to No. 3. That swap can be argued either way, but the Bills and Josh Allen did beat the Jaguars in last year’s Wild Card round, so the nod goes their way for now.
In Other News...
Jaguars Suddenly Face A Brutal Left Tackle Problem Before Stretch Run
The Jaguars offensive line took another hard hit with Anton Harrisons season ending in a way nobody in Jacksonville wanted to see. Harrison, who was already on injured reserve, suffered a torn ACL during surgery, leaving the team without the left tackle it had hoped to get back as the year pushed toward its finish.
Walker Little is now the obvious option to handle the job the rest of the way, and that puts the Jaguars in a familiar sort of late-season stress test up front. The timing is especially painful because the injury timeline points to a possible Week 1 return next season, which means Jacksonville has to make do now while also keeping an eye on what this means for the line going forward. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Face A Brian Thomas Jr Decision That Could Change Everything
Brian Thomas Jr.s role has become one of the more intriguing questions hanging over Jacksonville after the bye week. The Jaguars have already shown they are willing to sit him down in a recent game, and with enough depth at wide receiver to potentially absorb a move, the conversation has shifted from simple adjustment to something much bigger.
Thomas current usage also complicates the picture, because every game he spends in a reduced role affects how the rest of the league values him. If Jacksonville is serious about exploring trade options, the next stretch could determine whether this is just a temporary reset or the start of a far more significant decision about one of the teams most talented pass catchers. [Read more 🡒]